| Join Omar Samra as he climbs the highest peak in Africa for the mentally challenged |
| By Nadine El Sayed |
| Combine the first Egyptian to climb Mount Everest, Omar Samra, with the highest mountain in Africa and you know you’re in for a good adventure — but add a little good cause to spice up the formula and you have a winner. Through his travel adventure company Wild Guanabana, Samra is launching the third Right to Climb initiative — a climb to Mount Kilimanjaro to fundraise and spread awareness for the Right to Live Association (RTLA) for the mentally challenged.For the third time since 2010, Samra is rounding up a group of volunteer, self-funded climbers for an eight-day trip to Tanzania to climb the highest peak in Africa next September. The months before the climb will be spent spreading awareness and fundraising, with a LE 20,000 target for each climber.“If the climbers can’t meet their targets but they made the effort that’s fine, they will still go on the climb. But we want them to make the effort; most people last year exceeded their targets,” says Samra. “So every climber tells their surrounding circle that they are going to climb Kilimanjaro for this cause and they educate them about the charity, the cause, how they can help and so on. So they are achieving two things; they are raising money, but they are also raising a lot of awareness because they are talking to people about it and these people then talk to others; it is a domino effect.” Samra and his climbers have single-handedly managed to raise over LE 1 million for RTLA; despite last year’s turbulent economic times. But this year is a challenging one for The Right to Climb; not only is sponsorship, one of the main sources of income for the initiative, getting tougher to get due to the economic status of the country after January 25, people are also traveling less. This was already apparent last year where they had trouble getting sponsorship and had 15 climbers compared to 25 in 2010 — although admittedly convincing 15 Egyptians to go climb the highest mountain around the continent seems like an achievement in and of itself. But Samra remains hopeful, he is hoping to raise LE 500,000 this year. Close to Home With two mentally challenged sisters, Samra has seen first-hand the facilities and services provided in Egypt for the patients from a decent financial background, let alone the lesser-fortunate ones. Knowing exactly the needs and troubles of the mentally challenged, Samra decided to take matters into his own hands, collaborating with RTLA, the organization that his mother and a group of concerned parents co-founded in 1981 to answer the much- missed needs of the intellectually disabled. Although charity organizations in Egypt are many, as are CSR initiatives launched by multinationals, it is rare to find a small company launching a CSR initiative to support a lesser-supported non-profit organization. “There is a lot to be done and the cause can benefit from the awareness we can raise,” Samra says. “Fortunately and unfortunately there are big charity organizations in Egypt that overshadow the smaller ones and get the lions’ share in donations so we wanted to put the spotlight on RTLA.” The Right to Live Naturally, it does make more sense to collaborate with his mother’s organization; but that wasn’t the reason Samra chose RTLA to dedicate funds to. “There are other organizations in Egypt that help people with mental disabilities, not enough, but there are a few,” says Samra. “But RTLA specializes in early intervention; which is starting [to work with the mentally challenged when they are] babies; most other organizations start with older kids.” Samra explains that at this young age the mission is harder because they’re dealing with babies, but the effects are much stronger than starting at an older age. “This young age is the most critical age because the kids are very malleable and there is a great opportunity [for] concentrated efforts that can yield very good results and transform the kids’ lives,” he adds. Because the intervention is on a one-on-one basis between the teacher and the baby, and because it mandates various types of equipment necessary for the habilitation, it requires not only a lot of effort but also a lot of funds. RTLA already has the necessary equipment for engaging in sensor trainings and so on, but the equipment constantly needs to be maintained and changed; so RTLA is always in need of a steady source of income. The two other projects The Right to Climb initiative is aiming to raise funds for are vocational programs and housing for the mentally challenged. The vocational program aims to give those capable of working sets of skills they can use to be productive and earn money. RTLA launched a pioneering project with Unilever to dedicate a packaging line for RTLA’s members man on their own. “The mentally disabled, like kids with Down Syndrome, love repetition, they can do something over and over again and not get bored whereas the normal person will get bored and end up doing it wrong,” says Samra. “So it started as a case study but they are doing more of that now.” Studies have shown that the percentage of error among the intellectually challenged was less than that among normal workers; something that made the experience spread more and gave people a sense of purpose and productivity. RTLA’s home project provides a home for those whose parents are incapable of supporting them anymore, either due to financial or health issues. “The normal lifecycle of a [regular] kid is that the parents take care of him, he grows up and goes to school and then eventually he can take care of his parents,” explains Samra. “But with the mentally disabled the kids are like a ‘responsibility or burden’ on the parents and so when the parents gets older they no longer have the energy to take care of the kids the same way.” But the situation is harder for parents from poorer backgrounds who can’t afford to stay home and look after their children and are forced to leave them home and go to work. Unlike other organizations offering care services for the intellectually challenged, RTLA is a non-profit outfit offering services free of charge for those in need. Understandably their source of income is rather thin; and Samra is determined to raise money for their cause. You Can Do It Too Kilimanjaro was chosen specifically because it is challenging, and yet it doesn’t need prior experience as a climber or athletic capabilities. Still, if you are out of shape you will need three months of training before the climb. “You don’t have to be an athlete or super fit, but you need to train for the climb two or three months and get into a regular exercise routine,” says Samra. “You need to train two to three times a week; running, going to the gym and so on. The only barrier to doing something like this is your own willingness and your own mind.” The cost of the charity climb is $2,484. For more information go to http://goo.gl/EbfgR or join their Facebook group on http://www.facebook.com/right2climb |
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